By Ystyn Francis
Blackadder strove to subvert many things, most noticeably history and the English language. Therefore, the genius of Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is how it so cleverly subverts itself…and Dickens, of course. How Elton and Atkinson successfully reinvent Edmund Blackadder, one of the nastiest creatures in television lore, into a saintly figure who still manages to sledge others more creatively and cleverly than Kevin Spacey in Swimming with Sharks or Peter Capaldi in the savagely brilliant In the Loop is enough to do your head in. Yes, he is the nicest man in England, but he can still pull out these corkers:
“If he eats any more heartily, he will turn into a pie shop.”
“I’m afraid the only way you are likely to get a wet kiss at Christmas, or indeed at any other time, is to make a pass at a water closet.”
And there are many others. The story revolves around a skint Blackadder and his sidekick Baldrick who get royally screwed over by anyone and everyone because they are just too damn nice. Cue a visit from Robbie Coltrane’s The Ghost of Christmas who foolishly lets ‘Ebenezer’ see glimpses of his atrocious ancestors which convinces him that not only are good guys suckers but that ‘bad guys have all the fun’. This more importantly affords long-term fans a darkly black reunion with past Blackadder incarnations and also a visit from a future one as well.
Finally, as usual, amongst the adroit dialogue and word play, Blackadder still skillfully manages to create bitingly accurate social satire, the best of which from Prince Albert who sums up the Christmas season and its rapid vapid descent into unadulterated commercialism:
“Leave Jesus out of it. He always ruins the Xmas spirit.”
I am not sure if I have ever heard a more poignant comment.
Note: If you want a great Christmas sledge, Melchot’s to Blackadder is my all-time favourite:
“Greetings of the season to you, Blackadder! May the Yule log slip from your fire and burn your house down!”
Yesterday: Seinfeld
Tomorrow: Millennium
I haven’t watched this great special in years but I will have to get stuck in. The British Christmas specials are always so well done.